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Hurricane Oscar (Garfield)
Hurricane Oscar was the strongest hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season, as well as one of the most destructive Texas hurricanes on record. Oscar originated from a Tropical wave off the coast of Africa. It moved through the Caribbean sea and steadily intensified, eventually striking the Yucatan Peninsula as a category 3 hurricane. Oscar the entered the Gulf of Mexico and intensified under favorable conditions, reaching peak intensity as a strong category 4 hurricane. Oscar weakened slightly before making landfall in Texas, and becoming post-tropical over the United States. Meteorological History Formation On September 23, a tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa, and was monitored for development by the NHC. The tropical wave had plenty of convection, and due to the advantage of being the only tropical system in the basin at the time, it was able to steadily develop. By September 25, the system was beginning to develop banding features and was blowing more convection. Early the next morning, a recon jet found a closed circulation, and Tropical Depression Sixteen was declared. Shortly after being declared, Sixteen approached an area of colder waters, and weakened to 30 mph. Sixteen exited this area shortly after, and late on September 27, gale force winds were found, and Tropical Storm Oscar was declared. Oscar was then predicted to curve out to sea, potentially clipping Puerto Rico. However, a low became established to Oscar's north, pushing the storm into a due westward track into the Caribbean. Oscar intensified to 60 mph as it passed through the Leeward Islands, causing minor damages. Oscar then began to develop significant banding, and the NHC noted a low-level eye was forming. On September 30, Oscar intensified into a category 1 hurricane. From this point on, some models predicted rapid intensification, some even bringing Oscar to C5 intensity. At the time, Oscar was predicted to pass over Jamaica as a strong tropical storm. Intensification and first landfall Oscar's eye began to clear out on September 31, and Oscar reached category 2 intensity that day. Oscar then passed just south of Jamaica as a strengthening hurricane. However, the southern section of Jamaica suffered severe damage from Oscar's northern eyewall. Oscar then entered the western caribbean, and a recon jet confirmed that Oscar had intensified into the third major hurricane of the season on October 1. As Oscar approached the Yucatan, it briefly intensified to a first peak of 120 mph just before landfall on Quintana Roo, Mexico. Oscar only weakened slightly as it made landfall, and the NHC noted that Oscar retained almost all of it's convection over the penninsula. Late on October 1, Oscar emerged into the Bay of Campeche as a minimal category 3 hurricane. With favorable environments ahead of Oscar, the NHC noted that Oscar would likely be a severe, destructive storm wherever it hit. Final landfall and Dissipation As the Gulf of Mexico featured low shear and warm waters, Oscar instantly intensified back to 120 mph. A low located to the east of Oscar began to push the storm northwest. The NHC posted hurricane warnings in Texas, preparing for "A large scale disaster not seen since Hurricane Ike". As Oscar entered the main gulf, the storm rapidly intensified to peak intensity of 150 mph early on October 3. Oscar was then expected to reach category 5 intensity on the saffir-simpson scale. Oscar however underwent an eyewall replacement cycle, and began to slowly weaken. By now, NHC was certain that Oscar would strike Texas, and told residents there to evacuate the area. Texas Governor Greg Abbott told residents to "get out, this storm ain't joking". Eventually, Oscar's eye began to clear out, but it weakened to a category 3 hurricane due to decreasing sea surface temperatures. On October 4, Hurricane Oscar made landfall near Calhoun, Texas as a category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 miles per hour. Oscar quickly weakened to a category 1 hurricane after landfall, and weakened below hurricane intensity on October 5. Oscar then raced off to the east, transitioning into a post-tropical cyclone on October 6. Impacts Leeward Islands Oscar only caused light impacts in the Leeward Islands, as it was only a strong tropical storm at the time. The storm caused moderate damages in Martinique and St Lucia that was limited to storm surge and heavy rainfall. One person died in Barbados when they were sucked out to sea. Other than this, damages were very light. Jamaica This Island nation was hit unexpectedly hard by Oscar's northern eyewall. Treasure Beach sustained serious damage due to high surge and category 2 force winds in the area. The country's capital, Kingston, also suffered severe damage, and was declared a disaster area. In Treasure beach, 1 person died when a tree fell on them, and 3 more people drowned. In Kingston, 5 people died when a tour bus slipped off the wet roadways. Three people also died near Black River when they tried to "daredevil scuba dive". Mexico Mexico was also hit much harder than predicted. Quintana Roo suffered severe damage, especially near the coast, due to Oscar's surge and the storm's rainfall producing mudslides. These mudslides killed about 20 people. A shopping center was destroyed when a large tree fell into it, and later that night another large tree fell on the already weakened wall, and it collapsed. A new canal was produced along the coast, and was named the Oscar Canal, as of 2019, is has widened so much it is now a popular route for shipping. United States Texas was devastated by the powerful storm, with the final total coming to around $20.3 Billion in damages. Oscar caused severe destruction in Aransas, Refugio, and Calhoun among other counties. Oscar's surge completely flooded Aransas in 12 feet of water, killing at least 40 people. Oscar also caused severe rainfall and hurricane force winds in the northern areas of Texas as it retained convection. Oscar also caused light damages in surrounding states as it became extratropical. Retirement During the WMO convention in April 2019, the name Oscar was retired, and will not return in 2024. Instead, the name Owen will take the name's place on the rotating name lists. Category:VileMaster Category:Category 4 hurricanes Category:Strong Storms Category:Deadly storms Category:Costly storms Category:Long-Lasting storms Category:Retired storms